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Club sports participation grows

The number of club sports at Notre Dame is on the rise due in part to a new University policy, RecSports Assistant Director Dave Brown said.

“We are now including clubs in sports that also include varsity programs at Notre Dame,” Brown said.

This spring semester, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and co-ed golf will start new club teams on campus through RecSports, he said. In the past, club sports were not permitted to form if a varsity team for that same sport already existed at Notre Dame.

“Alex McIntyre and I were just chilling in our dorm room one day, looked at each other and asked, ‘Why can’t we start our own club soccer team?'” sophomore Nick Reineke said.

McIntyre and Reineke gathered support for their club team, and practices will start up this spring.

“After receiving some positive feedback from the schools, we put up sign-up sheets in dorms to see if students were interested,” Reineke said.

The club teams are great for those students who are not quite good enough or committed enough to be on the varsity team, but still hunger for greater competition and community than interhall sports offer, Brown said.

“Our club is going to be an organization of fun, acceptance and competition of all skill levels,” junior Michael Kennedy said.

Kennedy and his golfing buddy, junior Tim Scott, are starting the co-ed club golf team on campus this spring.

“Whether you love to golf simply for relaxation and fun or want to relive the competitive days of high school golf, we would love for you to join,” he said.

Starting a new club team does not happen overnight though, Brown added. Club sports teams must start the process through the Student Activities Office.

“Clubs that would fall under club sports are sent to me,” Brown said. “There are several steps ­¾ formal application, completion of a club constitution and a mission statement. We need a list of proposed officers with contact information and an identified adviser. For competitive club sports we investigate Midwest conferences and leagues in the sport, national associations and costs of travel, entry fees, membership fees for any league and what sources of revenues the club expects to have at its disposal.”

The women’s volleyball club team will also begin in the spring, according to senior Stephanie Cripps.

“We are really excited that we finally have our own club volleyball team at Notre Dame and can’t wait to get the season started,” Cripps said. “It has been a lot of work, but we are very happy that Notre Dame is allowing club sports and that we get to spend our senior year being a part of it.”

The club sports are open for any and all students to join. Visit recsports.nd.edu for more information.